We Can Try This

After breaking through the Siegfried Line, the 9th Armored Division raced into Germany. On the afternoon of March 7th, C Troop of the 89th Reconnaissance Squadron, which was part of Task Force Engemann, rolled onto a ridge overlooking the small …

1945-03-07

PD04

After breaking through the Siegfried Line, the 9th Armored Division raced into Germany. On the afternoon of March 7th, C Troop of the 89th Reconnaissance Squadron, which was part of Task Force Engemann, rolled onto a ridge overlooking the small town of Remagen. To their surprise, they found the nearby Ludendorff Bridge still intact. Engemann asked Lt. Karl H. Timmermann, commander of Company A of the 14th Tank Battalion, if his tanks could make it through the town to the bridge. ”Well, sir” he replied, ”we can try.”

Remagen, Germany

The Battle of Remagen during the Allied invasion of Germany resulted in the unexpected capture of the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine. After capturing the Siegfried Line, the 9th Armored Division of the U.S. First Army had advanced unexpectedly quickly towards the Rhine. They were very surprised to see one of the last bridges across the Rhine still standing. The Germans had wired the bridge with about 2,800 kilograms (6,200 lb) of demolition charges. When they tried to blow it up, only a portion of the explosives detonated. U.S. forces captured the bridge and rapidly expanded their first bridgehead across the Rhine, two weeks before Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's meticulously planned Operation Plunder. The GIs' actions prevented the Germans from regrouping east of the Rhine and consolidating their positions.

Wikipedia: Battle of Remagen

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